Jesus, Heaven’s all-inclusive gift!

He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Romans 8: 32, NRSV (The New Oxford Annotated Bible)

Gracious God, we say thank You for the complete gift we have in Your Son, Jesus Christ our Savior.  Amen

Today our text invites us to take a look at heaven’s all-inclusive gift:  Jesus Christ.  When God gave His Son to become a sacrifice for the human race He withheld nothing; everything that is necessary for our salvation was included!  We will be digging a little bit deeper into this reality within a few days.  Today we will consider only some aspects of this marvelous promise.

What would be our reaction if someone gave us a blank check and told us to go and purchase anything our hearts desired?  Perhaps some would “seize the moment,” no questions asked.  The response of others would more than likely depend on several factors.  Perhaps the most important would be:  How well do I know this person?  This would be followed by other considerations such as:  Can he or she make good his or her offer?  Is this person trustworthy?  What is  his or her motive? 

May God help us to grasp the full meaning of this promise in the light of these considerations.  This promise is heaven’s blank check offered to a world living in bankruptcy.  We are invited to write in our need(s),  take it to heaven’s bank, and cash it!  It is a check that will never bounce.  It will never come back to you with a stamp of “Not Sufficient Funds.” Perhaps if we believed this we would live like conquerors, and “more than conquerors[!]” 

Let us answer, from God’s Word, the concerns we may have about heaven’s “blank check:”

“Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” John 17:3, NIV

” ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the LORD Almighty.”  Haggai 2: 8, NIV

“Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath.  God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged.” Hebrews 6: 17, 18, NIV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  John 3: 16

There you have it!  Knowing Him produces eternal life; it does not get any better than that!  He can make good every offer because there is enough silver and gold in His coffer!  He is totally trustworthy, because it is impossible for Him to lie!  His motive is pure love!

So go on, write in your need(s) on your blank check and take it to heaven’s bank.  There is an abundance of everything you will ever need, and so much more!